INFANT MORTALITY: ‘Babies First’ Media Campaign Targets Fresno County
Seeking to reduce the infant mortality rate in Fresno County, the 48th worst of the state's 58 counties, county officials plan to launch a media campaign touting Fresno Healthy Start -- a program combining prenatal case management and education services in needy neighborhoods, the Fresno Bee reports. "Our main focus is to reduce infant mortality," said Kathleen Grassi, the county's Maternal Child and Adolescent Health manager, adding, "The resources are there. Now the challenge is to bridge the resources to the people who need it." Funded by an annual $1.2 million federal grant for four years, the program, also called "Babies First," will be advertised through billboards, radio and television, as well as a kickoff luncheon on June 11. Babies First Consortium, a group of local health workers and community members, leads the program's public awareness element and includes a speakers' bureau, as well as nurses who offer home visits to pregnant women (Xiong, 6/3).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.